The present invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly to vehicle mounted, environmentally protected connectors which are substantially sealed from the elements.
Motor vehicles are typically outfitted with an electric connector or power outlet to facilitate the towing of general purpose trailers, other motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, trailorable homes, or the like. One of the requirements of towing the trailers or vehicles is that, depending upon the configuration of the trailer or vehicle being towed, electrical signals to energize brake lights, running lights, turn signal lights, and power for various accessory devices must be transmitted from the towing vehicle to the towed trailer or vehicle. To accomplish this, electrical conductors which are typically housed in a cable are routed to the rear of the vehicle and terminate at a connector mounted at or below the rear bumper of the towing vehicle. The connector has an internal contact configuration which is typically a standard throughout the industry to facilitate the connecting of an oppositely configured connector which is part of the towed vehicle or trailer.
The receptacle, when mounted at or below rear bumper level of the towing vehicle is subject to an environmental exposure which includes water, dust, snow, road salts, and the like. Such environmental exposure tends to corrode, short-circuit, and otherwise degrade the conductivity of electrical connections and thus diminish the operational efficiency of the connector. Prolonged environmental exposure can also result in the failure of the electrical connection, thus interrupting the electrical power and signals being transmitted to towed trailer or vehicle. The disruption of signals and power to functions such as brake lights, signal lights, and electric brakes poses a serious safety concern to the operators of the vehicles and has posed a problem for the manufacturers and users of such connectors.
The industry and using public have a requirement for a cable-connector combination which will reliably deliver electrical signals and electric power to a towed vehicle or trailer without the typical environmental conditions of road travel interfering with such electrical signals.